Tullow to drill more oil wells after Ghana-Ivory Coast maritime dispute

Tullow Oil says plans are underway to resume drilling next year to boost output at its Tweneboa, Enyenra, Ntomme (TEN) field once the maritime dispute between Ghana and The Cote d’Ivoire is resolved.

Mr Charles Darku, the Tullow Ghana Managing Director, told shareholders on Wednesday that the drilling of the new wells would help increase production to 80,000 barrels a day from the current expected level of 50,000 barrels for 2017.

The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea is set to rule on the maritime border dispute in late 2017.

“We are looking to the Ghana government to reach a resolution on that to enable us immediately to resume drilling new wells to boost production,” Mr Darku said.

The offshore TEN field blocks came on stream in August last year. Mr Darku said since no wells could be drilled until after the ruling, Tullow was managing the existing wells in a prudent and sustainable manner.

He said Tullow would seek additional reserves to extend production life while investing in new exploration opportunities beyond Jubilee and TEN. Touching on the Jubilee remediation and future production, Mr Darku said the Turret remediation project is on track.

He said the next phase of the project would involve modifications to the turret systems for long-term spread-moored operations, adding that detailed planning for the works is ongoing with government and joint venture partners to take the final decisions within the first half of 2017. He said work was expected to be carried out in the second half of 2017 with an anticipated shutdown of up to 12 weeks.

Mr Darku said Tullow was targeting Greater Jubilee Full Field Development Plan which aims to extend field production and increase commercial reserves in the second half of 2017.

Also Tullow would commence drilling in early 2018 to extend plateau and increase reserves in the field. On gas production, Mr Darku said Tullow was working in close collaboration with Ghana Gas to optimise gas usage, adding that the strategy was to maximise gas supply to Ghana.

He said Jubilee gas supply was increasing steadily and the completion of the TEN gas infrastructure would enhance the ability to supply more.

Mr Paul McDade, the Group CEO, said Tullow would continue to focus on growth with high-impact exploration assets and would be well positioned to take advantage of market opportunities.